Beat goes on for Matthew's Hearts of Hope

Deborah Rose

Published 11:53 am, Thursday, March 26, 2015

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The "Hug A Heart Pillow Project" is an ongoing benefit for Matthew's Hearts of Hope, named for Matthew Hatcher of Sherman and created to help children born with congenital heart defects. March 2015
Courtesy of Matthew's Hearts of Hope less

The "Hug A Heart Pillow Project" is an ongoing benefit for Matthew's Hearts of Hope, named for Matthew Hatcher of Sherman and created to help children born with congenital heart defects. March 2015
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Photo: Contributed Photo

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Girl Scouts and others helping with the cause gather for a photo March 14, 2015 at Bryan Memorial Town Hall in Washington during "Stuff A Heart," a benefit event for the "Hug A Heart Pillow Project" for Matthew's Hearts of Hope.
Courtesy of Pam Goethner less

Girl Scouts and others helping with the cause gather for a photo March 14, 2015 at Bryan Memorial Town Hall in Washington during "Stuff A Heart," a benefit event for the "Hug A Heart Pillow Project" for ... more

Photo: Contributed Photo

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The "Hug A Heart Pillow Project" is an ongoing benefit for Matthew's Hearts of Hope, named for Matthew Hatcher of Sherman and created to help children born with congenital heart defects. March 2015
Courtesy of Matthew's Hearts of Hope less

The "Hug A Heart Pillow Project" is an ongoing benefit for Matthew's Hearts of Hope, named for Matthew Hatcher of Sherman and created to help children born with congenital heart defects. March 2015
Courtesy ... more

Photo: Contributed Photo

Beat goes on for Matthew's Hearts of Hope

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Matthew's Hearts of Hope has been keeping a pretty brisk pace.

Founded in 2011 by Marie Hatcher, Matthew's mom, Matthew's Hearts of Hope has been an advocate dedicated to raising awareness to the number one birth defect, congenital heart defects (CHD).

It also offers support to CHD patients and their families and raises funding for research.

Soon thereafter, a fundraiser for the program was held at a Whalers game. More than $500 was raised at the event.

In other news, five different Hug-A-Heart pillow projects have been underway since the beginning of 2015.

Just under 1,000 pillows stuffed with poly-fill have been made, thanks to JFK Elementary School in Brewster, N.Y., the Washington Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, Sherman School, the Kid Kare Club in New Fairfield and St. Francis Xavier Church's fifth-grade religious education class in New Milford.

"They are a God-sent to the kids in the hospital," said MHOH friend Allison Heffer, a child-life specialist on the cardiac floor at Children's Hospital of New York

She sees the pediatric heart patients when they come down from the hospital's intensive care unit.

"They bring a smile to their faces and they help their recovery process go faster," she said.

In Washington, Girl Scouts troops #40226 and #40285 hosted a "Stuff A Heart" pillow event at Bryan Memorial Town Hall.

The pillow project invited patrons to stuff heart pillows that would be given to children, with a congenital heart defect, following heart surgery.

The pillows comfort the children and allow them to cough with less pain following surgery.

The Girl Scouts provided the material for the 223 pillows. As the kids stuffed, the parents on hand finished sewing the pillows closed.

The event was attended by other area Girl Scouts, including members of New Milford troops 40222,40224, 40236, 40206,40229,40273 and 40271, as well as Wingdale, N.Y. Troop 10330.

Boy Scouts from Bridgewater, Roxbury and Washington Troop 465 also contributed their efforts.

Matthew's mother is most appreciative of all the support her family, and those others with CHD, have rceived via Matthew's Hearts of Hope.

"We offer support to families of CHD warriors through the pillow project," Hatcher said, "and also by working on mandated pulse oximetry screening which helps to raise awareness to the number one birth defect."

She noted the program raises money to fund promising CHD research currently in nine pediatric cardiology programs in the northeast, including Boston Children's Hospital, Children's Hospital in New York and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.